High-Quality Editing Standards

Today, one can often hear that people, especially students, are not able to produce any single writing piece of top quality. However, there is a strong opinion that the problem lies in people’s unawareness of editing rules rather than the writing ones. The thing is that preparing a particular work is not as complicated as it might seem. One can create an outstanding paper but poor or excessive editing will make it a terrible one.

If it were possible to ask well-known writers about this issue, they would disagree with the statement made in the previous paragraph. The books and stories of famous authors are sometimes unclear and incoherent at all. It is necessary to admit that their works contain lengthy sentences and passages that make it difficult to catch on the writer’s idea. Besides, the majority of works raises the same subject. Therefore, a conclusion is obvious – there are no supreme writing pieces, but only quality rewriting.

High quality paper editing is as much important as skilled writing. Thus, if you wish your readers to be impressed with your paper, you need to pay attention to the following points:

Read the paper aloud: By reading the paper aloud, you will define redundant and confusing sentences or even the whole paragraphs.

Read the work backwards: This is a very helpful proofreading technique. If you read your piece of writing in reverse, you will definitely notice spelling errors. It is necessary to state that this method is not very efficient when it goes about content. Here, attention is to be paid to the word order in each sentence. You need to read sentence by sentence from end till beginning. By applying such an approach, you will be able to realize if the text is coherent.

Take your time: It is recommended to have a rest before you begin the editing process. The best way is to start editing your piece of writing in a day or two after it has been written. This will enable you to find all grammar and spelling mistakes. It is obvious that one bears in mind a lot of information about the topic i.e. ideas, facts, data, etc. Therefore, it can be hard to produce a paper logically. Nevertheless, if you put away your work for some time, your brain will be ready to notice every paper flaw, whether it is logical inconsistencies or grammar errors.

Write briefly: When writing papers, we sometimes create too long sentences. Editing will help eliminate redundancy. Remember that succinct pieces of writing are more comprehensible and have more profound effect on readers.

Provide arguments: Note that each idea or statement presented in your work has to be supported by irrefutable facts. Do not be afraid to delete the sentences containing useless information. They will not add value to your work.

Mind the correct use of language: Avoid using improper words in your paper. It often happens inexperienced and unskilled writers try to use the words and expressions that seem to be academic-related. However, everything appears to be vice versa. Being unknowledgeable, writers may use some slang, jargons, colloquialisms, etc. It is necessary to erase these words, as they will bewilder readers. A good option is to apply to the journalistic writing style.

Avoid wordiness: In the course of editing, you have to make sure that your paper does not include a lot of redundant details. There is no need to repeat the same opinion twice but in different words. It is just a waste of time both yours and readers. Remember that no one wants to read the work that is written about nothing. Thus, be specific when creating your piece of writing. As a result, editing will not take much time.

Remove the adverbs that make no sense: Using adverbs as well as adjectives is rather helpful when examining a particular subject. However, there are some cases when the excessive use of adverbs makes the piece of writing sound illogically. For instance, “They run quickly.” It is unnecessary to use the adverb “quickly” as running presupposes being quick. If you want to illustrate an unusual feature of a particular object, you should indicate it in other way. Believe that readers do know that runners are quick.

Do not use passive constructions: Pay close attention to the use of the verb “to be”, as it often means using Passive voice. Passive sentences can make the paper sound unconvincing. Readers may think that the writer is not sure about what he/she is writing or is unaware of the subject. Compare, “The vase was broken” and “He broke the vase.” The second sentence, unlike the first one, clearly states who is responsible for such a deed.

One should be a real professional in order to edit papers perfectly. It is no secret that this is a real art that takes a lot of time to be mastered. However, you will be satisfied with the final result. Your writing pieces will become more engaging, appealing, and logical. You can be sure that your readers will enjoy each of your papers.